One Half Gone: a Stoll Brothers fic
by epoc823
Summary: With one half of this familiar duo gone, what will the other do? Brotherly angst, grief and love. T for language and adult themes.


**Title:**One Half Gone  
**Characters/pairing:**Travis and Connor Stoll, Travis/Kayla, Connor/Miranda and many other friends  
**Summary:**Travis gets unexpectedly killed in a car crash. The repercussions are what is in the fic.  
**A/N:**Ages ago I roleplayed a certain son of Hermes, and developing his relationship to his slightly older brother was wonderful and I grew much attached to them.  
This fic is basically just celebrating their brotherhood in a peculiar way.  
Also, because this fic was based on characterizations and events from the RP, you may be a bit confused. Just go with it.  
**Dedication****:** To Roxy – the Travis to my Connor.  
**Word Count:** 1,366

Connor got the call from Kayla at 3 am.

He dropped his phone to the ground.

Butch was at his security officer job, over 45 minutes away. Miranda was on her way to Montana with Katie for Spring Break.

And he had never felt more alone than in that single moment.

-

He threw open the emergency room doors, and could almost hear his heart pounding in his chest. Connor looked around anxiously for an idea where to go but was at a loss. A young, tired looking nurse asked him if he needed help.

"Stoll. Travis Stoll. Where is he?" She glanced at her clip board and gestured in the direction of Travis' room.

He ran.

-

Kayla was sitting beside him, clutching his hand desperately with one of hers and had Zoe on her opposite hip. She had thin streaks of mascara running down her face from tears. His sister-in-law looked up as Connor skirted into the room. He stared at the bed, wordless.

"He…" Kayla took a shaky breath. "Car accident. Drunk driver." Connor swore under his breath. Out of all the stereotypical, _mortal_ ways to get hurt… he shook his head and walked over to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. Kayla swallowed hard, her eyes trained on the still figure before them.

It was going to be a long night full of monitors, IVs and anxiety.

-

He felt a light push on his arm. Connor shook his head groggily and mumbled something incoherent. The same nurse as before looked at him with a serious expression and urged him quietly to get up. He blinked hard and then it hit him.

The men in white coats nearby were lifting a body onto a stretcher. A lifeless body. He lunged for it, but the men held him back. He jerked away from them and reached for his brother's arm, as he had done thousands of times before. He'd grabbed it for jokes, for fights, for protection. Now Connor was reaching for his brother for the last time.

He felt like the world had just collapsed. He couldn't breathe. Connor looked at the nurse and she nodded softly in affirmation of his darkest fear. Connor stumbled out of the room, searching for his sister-in-law.

-

"Kayla!" He nearly yelled it. She winced at his volume and turned to face him, coffee in hand. She gave her best attempt at a smile before telling him good morning. "Have you… um, seen him this morning?"

She shook her head and replied, "No, I went home early this morning to get Zoe some new clothes and diapers. Oh, and I grabbed some breakfast and sent messages to my brothers, letting them know the details," She took a breath. "Everyone should be here in an hour or so!"

Connor blinked back any tears that threatened to escape.

He simply wrapped his arms around her and held her close.

She tensed and pulled away. One look into the younger Stoll's eyes and she knew.

-

The scene in the hospital that day was an awful sight. The large group of young people nearly overwhelmed the visitor's area. Kayla was standing in the lobby, crying into Will's chest. Lee was standing next to them, one hand on her back, rubbing it thoughtfully, his other arm holding his niece. Austin was hovering with Malcolm nearby, looking for the doctor and answers. Katie and Miranda were expected back any minute. Butch had decided not to come, though Connor kind of wished he would have.

Connor was sitting near everyone, staring blankly at the ground. What the fuck was even going on. He felt like he was dissolving into nothing.

-

"Sorry about this, man. It's really rough."

"Oh, babe. I'm so sorry."

"If you need anything, Connor, don't hesitate to let us know."

"Dude, I'm sorry. If this were me… gods, I… it would be bad."

"Aww, sweetie. Here, have a cookie. And a hug!"

"Please, don't be a stranger. Visit. Stop by. This changes nothing, okay?"

-

Funerals _suck_. He knew that much. They just… did. No matter how you cut the pie, funerals just flat out suck. With every sad condolence, every pat on the back, every teary hug, it just got worse. He knew they were being nice. That he should be grateful for all the kindness. And yet, all he wanted to do was lock himself in a room and never come out.

But he put on a brave face.

If only for the little girl out there who just lost her daddy. And the grieving mother who just lost her husband.

-

His roommate was out with his girlfriend and _his_ girlfriend was hanging out with her sister.

He picked up the phone to call the one person he could always count on. He was half-way through dialing before he remembered. Connor cursed everything and slammed it down again.

-

"Can't you DO anything?! You're the god of messages! God of… travelers! God of… of…" Connor was screaming at Hermes, at a loss.

"He literally sold his soul to Hades. I can't do anything. I couldn't for Luke, and I can't for Travis." Hermes' tone was slightly bitter, yet Connor was able to note the sadness. He nodded slowly and closed his eyes as his father vanished.

-

He was at their apartment, going through Travis' stuff. Various family members and friends had spent the last few weeks at Kayla and Travis' apartment, filtering in and out. They had barely opened a box when Kayla started sobbing. Will went over to her and rubbed her shoulders, muttering comforting words as Connor watched silently.

Zoe began to cry loudly in the background.

-

When Miranda or Butch or Kayla or anyone asked him how he was, he said he was fine. And no one pushed him on it. They all knew that he was breaking inside. Maybe they knew that better than he did. But one night, Miranda had enough.

"Look, I know this sucks and it's the hardest thing you've ever had to deal with, BUT. That doesn't mean you can just give up and stop… living! You're better than that!"

He scowled in response. "How would you feel if all of a sudden, no warning, Katie died? Just… gone."

"I would scream and cry and push people away. I would hate life. I would despise all things good or happy for a long time. BUT. BUT I would eventually start to realize that life is actually a good thing. I would remember what it was like to be happy."

"How?! How in gods' name, Miranda? How is it possible to feel happy with him gone? That sounds so ridiculous and selfish and stupid. Travis isn—wasn't my whole world, but he was pretty damn close."

Miranda clenched her jaw and narrowed her eyes. "I don't know, okay?! I don't have all the answers, in fact I have next to none. All I know is that every time I see you stare off into space or you get that hard look on your face I want to cry! And I don't want you to hurt. I want to m-make it better somehow but I know I can't." She furiously wiped away the tears that had formed in her eyes. Connor stood up quickly and walked away from her.

"Sorry for being an inconvenience."

-

He was sitting by the lake, skipping stones. None of them were properly skipping, however. He remembered the day that Luke taught him and Travis to do that. He and his brothers had spent the whole afternoon searching for smooth stones to throw across the water. Surprisingly, the memory didn't bring back the now familiar ache in his chest. It made him smile.

And when he was finally able to smile… that was when he realized things would be okay. As much as he hated to admit it, life without Travis would in fact keep going.

After all, their dad was the god of travelers. And this was just another step in the journey of his life.

…damn, that was cheesy. He laughed out loud for the first time in month.


End file.
